Quote:
Originally Posted by AstralTraveller
Joe, that's a good idea. I can't use it in my backyard as I'm surrounded by trees, my garage and house and the neighbour's granny flat. I have no horizon but in suburbia it works well in keeping light out of the backyard. Don't get me wrong; the yard is well lit by skyglow  but no direct light most of the time. However it may be useful if I ever the clouds part when there is a comet about. |
David,
The method works even in a limited space like your backyard. You don't need a distant horizon. You should be able to measure the compass bearing of structural components in your back yard, path, driveway, house walls, shed and reference your telescope to that. I use photoshop to draw two lines, one for the side of the scope, one to eyeball on the structural component. I print that, glue it to a block of foam core then cut accurately with a steel rule and snap-blade knife. If you want to use it repeatedly, cover it with clear contact.
cheers
Joe